What will the Auditor of tomorrow look like?

We look at some of the skills an Auditor in the future will need to be successful.

In Brief

Technology and more accessible information has created a new landscape for financial reporting.

Auditors need to evolve by providing thorough and relevant insights on financial conditions and performance.

Prosperity is not a science, it’s an art - as we are exploring through our Art of Prosperity campaign. This campaign highlights the value Chartered Accountants bring to business and how that value contributes to building communities and economies. It takes a unique talent, extensive training and cross-disciplined skills to help businesses thrive. An auditor needs to bring all this, plus a high level of professional scepticism and judgement. Clearly then, auditing is an art too.

How will the art of audit fare in dynamic and increasingly global economies? How will the new digital ways of using data impact the skills and expertise required? And how does this fit with increased regulatory scrutiny?

The secret of success is not in predicting the future, it’s about creating people who can thrive in a future that cannot be predicted. The Future Auditor is a short animation that looks at what qualities an auditor might need to navigate the unpredictable future.

Some of the qualities and competencies highlighted in the animation may not seem new and, indeed, this could be a true observation. The core of an auditor’s skills - curious, adaptable, proactive and trustworthy - won’t change. But adapting to the already known economic and business changes does mean that skills need to evolve.. Add to this the unknown changes, and then overlay speed of change, it is clear that the evolution has to be rapid – some may argue disruptive. And this is great. To quote Abraham Lincoln; “the best way to predict your future is to create it”. Creating our own assurance future is a reality.